The trip was just too short for Devious Company. He was outpaced from a long way out but his class saw him able to claw back all but one runner. Uncle Jumbo managed a place at 15/2 for a partial save. In the Nursery later on it is the usual tricky fare. I don't get involved too often in these 2YO Handicaps but I thought Rhoscolyn was worth a chance today. I am not a big fan of Charlie Hills, although he has done well with sprinters but I though this son of first season sire Territories was a revelation when they changed tactics and made all the running with him last time. He looked there to be shot at in front that day but going into the final furlong he kept pulling out more and drew right away for a decisive success. Of course the handicapper has reacted but Rhoscolyn is a good bodied colt who looks as if further progress is likely and Ryan Moore is doing the steering today. York should suit a front running effort and I will curl up if they hold him up today. All things being equal you would expect him to repeat the successful tactics today and he might be hard to peg back. 4.20 York Rhoscolyn 13/2
Not sure what to make of Love's performance there. Alpinista came out best of the Frankels who looked pretty poor to be honest; very disappointing. Slow time but it was no more than a stroll for Love. Impossible to know how good she is but I doubt if Gosden is feeling confident right now that the lovely Enable can give her 7lbs. Tough ask. I suspect he will be hoping the ground at Longcamp will be soft, but not too soft
That was a pathetic effort from Rhoscolyn. He was never going to get to the front today and while he did try to work his way into the race he went out like a light, rolling about like a drunk in a boat and dropped through the field like a stone. My own fault for betting in a Nursery and also for backing a Charlie Hills runner. I have never been able to make anything of his stable at all. 100 Lines to self, No Nurseries, No Charlie Hills.
Love couldn't have done it much more easily but she beat nothing there. Much was made of Frankly Darling not handling Epsom but the filly had won an awful looking renewal of the Ribblesdale and the brutal truth is that she is probably Listed class at best. Franconia was beaten an awful long way and ran as if something were amiss but the vet reported no abnormalities after the race and the only explanation was that the filly ran flat. I thought One Voice was overrated for running Fancy Blue close in the Nassau as a 20/1 outsider. She gave a poor imitation of a 114 rated filly today and I suggest her OR needs trimming shortly. It was a group 1 race with only one group 1 horse in it, in fact it may have been only one true group horse full stop, William Hill cut Love to 2/1 for the Arc but I would have left her on 3/1. Unless Enable comes out, I can't see Love 2/1 on Arc day and there is still the possibility that on good ground she might have to try to run down Ghayyiath and that is going to be a different task to reeling in Listed class fillies, some of whom have run like handicappers today.
Multiple lines suggests that Love is miles clear of the rest of the fillies, One Voice was beaten a neck by Fancy Blue in the Nassau, Fancy Blue was coming out of a very decent looking French Oaks with Alpine Star and Rabiihah, for Love to beat her 7L effortlessly is a fair performance. To say she was the only group filly in the race is nonsense, Manuela De Vega had beaten the Hardwicke winner Fanny Logan and won a Group 2 last time by 5.5L The runner up was coming in off a massive career best where she beat Queen Power the same distance as Fancy Blue beat her. Love appears to be in a different parish to the rest of these 3yos, from a mile to a mile and a half, shes just a proper top class filly and Obrien has now described her as the best he has trained, that puts her above Minding and a bunch of other very good fillies. He doesnt often come out with statements like that about fillies as their value is nowhere near the stallions. Love is just a bit special and she will be very hard to beat with the 3yo allowance in the Arc. Ghayaaith wont be gifted a 3L start in that race, they will have a spoiler or 2 in to keep him honest. Enable scraped in against Sea Of Class and at 6yo she is now up against a far superior 3yo filly. I think the fact that Gosden decided on an egg and spoon Kempton Group 3 rather than take her on today in a G1 is quite telling.
It would not have been very wise to take on Love before the Arc. Win or lose, it would have been a hard race. But Gosden must know how superior Enable is to the 3 he put up against Love and he could be worried that they were beaten so easily. The sectionals would be interesting, give the slow time but whichever way they read, it will tell us more about the opposition than it will about her. She has either beaten a poor bunch or or they had an off day; apart from the second. I suspect Manuela De Vega would have run better with softer going I haven't seen Love off the bit this season so it would be interesting if she is in a dog fight against Enable on soft ground Hate to say this but I think if the ground is on the fast side Enable may be battling it out for 3rd spot I doubt very much if I will go to the Arc this year as I don't want to see her get beaten
